That’s how it played out Sunday on what otherwise would have been the final game of the regular season for both clubs. The Milwaukee Brewers took care of their business with an 11-0 romp over Detroit at Miller Park and the Chicago Cubs thumped St. Louis, 10-5, at Wrigley Field, creating a tie for first place in the National League Central Division with 95-67 records.

So, because 162 games were not enough to settle this, we'll play No. 163 at noon Monday at Wrigley. The winner gets home-field advantage all the way through the NL playoffs, beginning Thursday night in the best-of-five Division Series. The loser plays at home in the wild-card game Tuesday night in a win-or-go-home affair.

“It’s actually a lot of fun to play in that environment,” said Christian Yelich, who had his first relatively quiet day at the plate in some time with a mere two walks against the Tigers. “We’re expecting it to be fairly hostile there tomorrow.

“It’ll be great. Any time we play the Cubs, it’s a hostile environment, especially in Wrigley Field. It’s going to be a lot of fun. We’re looking forward to it. We’re going in there with mindset that it’s must-win. We’re still alive if we don’t win but we’re going to do all we can to get that game.”

All four teams that had to win Sunday to stay alive for division crowns did so with relative ease. So, the Dodgers and Rockies also will play a 163rd game Monday in Los Angeles, with the winner taking the NL West. The loser will play on the road against either the Cubs or Brewers in the wild-card game.

“We did our job,” manager Craig Counsell said. “We got ourselves an extra game, so that’s how we’re looking at it. We just finished a very successful late run to get into that game. We won seven in a row to put ourselves into that game. That’s pretty darn good.”

That seven-game surge capped a 19-7 month of September that saw the Brewers close ground and finally catch the Cubs. Milwaukee was five games back entering Labor Day, when the Brewers beat Chicago, 4-3, at Miller Park and kicked it into another gear.

“We control our own destiny,” said Travis Shaw, who bopped his 32nd homer in the series finale against Detroit. “We had to win today to have a chance. (Monday) will be the same thing. We’ll take the same mindset into there. If you win, you don’t have to play Tuesday. Nobody wants to play Tuesday, so we’ll be ready to go.”

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Fans tailgate before the game. Here Matt Ruf (left) of Johnson Creek and Justin Lee of Rockford, Ill., were so certain of a Brewers win they smoked cigars and kept bottles of champagne at the ready at Miller Park where the Brewers played the Tigers. Michael Sears / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Zack Schilber (left) of Trevor, and Nick Beyer of Lake Geneva play a game of cornhole while tailgating at Miller Park before the Brewers game against the Tigers. Michael Sears / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

John Jorgensen of Milwaukee (left) and his wife Cindy enjoy some Bloody Marys while tailgating in the parking lots of Miller Park before the Brewers' game against the Tigers on Sunday.
Michael Sears / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Toby Probst of Cambridge sports a Green Bay Packers suit and a Brewers cap and cape while tailgating at Miller Park before the Brewers' game against the Tigers on Sunday.
Michael Sears / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Brewers fans let Ron Gardenhire have it after the Tigers manager decided to give Christian Yelich an intentional pass with runners on second and third inning the seventh inning Sunday. Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez gave the Brewers exactly what they needed as he tossed five shutout innings against the Tigers, allowing just three hits with one walk and three strikeouts on Sunday. Getty Images

Outfielder Curtis Granderson leaps into the air as he congratulates fellow team members at the end of the game. They include from left to right, Mike Moustakas, Travis Shaw, Orlando Arcia. Michael Sears / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Cubs won the season series from the Brewers, 11-8, which is why the game is at Wrigley and not Miller Park. But, after Chicago jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the series, the Brewers won seven of the remaining 10 games, including four of six in September when they chased down the Cubs.

The bad news is that somehow, once again, Chicago has lined up left-hander José Quintana to face the Brewers. The Cubs made sure Quintana pitched in all six series during the season because he dominates the Brewers, going 4-1 with a 2.17 earned run average in 2018 and 5-2, 1.89 in eight starts since Chicago acquired him at midseason in ’17.

“That doesn’t surprise me,” said Ryan Braun, who hit two home runs in a rare 7-0 romp over Quintana and the Cubs at Wrigley on Aug. 14. “If I was them, that’s the guy who makes the most sense. He’s had so much success against us. But they have a lot of good starters to choose from.”

Of a 20th meeting with Chicago this season, Braun said, “We recognized they were a great team at the beginning of the year. We knew they were the team to beat. We’ve earned the opportunity to play against them for the division. We’re excited about it.

“Obviously, it’ll be a challenging place for us to go and win but we’re playing good baseball and if we go in there and continue to do the things we’ve done over the last few weeks, we’ll forget about where we are.”

As the Brewers hopped on buses for the ride down to Chicago, they still had not announced who their starting pitcher would be.

After pitching for the first time in a Brewers-Cubs game on Labor Day, trade acquisition Cole Hamels said it couldn’t be considered a rivalry because so many Chicago fans had invaded Miller Park. He discovered afterward how wrong he was, and it’s only fitting that the two teams meet one more time to settle the division.

The Cubs are the two-time defending NL Central champs and winners of the 2016 World Series. The Brewers are returning to the playoffs for the first time in seven years and are the upstart team, ahead of schedule on their rebuild.

“Look, we’re familiar foes,” Counsell said. “There’s nothing to hide, really. There’s nothing new to discuss when you’re playing them necessarily. It’s a lot of familiar territory, and it will be a fun atmosphere and an interesting game and a strategic game, for sure. We’ll have some interesting choices throughout the game.

“We fought really hard to earn this game; that’s what feels good about it. We had to really play at a high level for the last week of the season, and some pressure spots in St. Louis and last couple days in Pittsburgh. We should feel really good about that, and it gives us a shot at the division. You take that every single season.”